Mercedes' Vance plant lures two more German firms to Alabama

The Mercedes-Benz automotive plant in Vance has attracted two more German companies to Alabama -- and both have growth aspirations beyond the automotive sector.

They are:

BLG Logistics Inc. is growing from the parts and sequencing operation it now has inside the Mercedes plant to a new logistics center in half of a 120,000-square-foot building now under construction next to the plant.

BLG also has established a Birmingham office in the World Business
Center atop Red Mountain with plans to go after distribution and logistics business with other companies -- particularly those in electronics and some consumer products.

BLG's neighbor in the World Business Center is WFB, the German abbreviation of what translates into Bremen Economic Development in English and will likely go by the name Bremen Invest in the U.S. The firm will promote trade and investment between companies in the two countries.

Bremen Invest has tapped Kirk Atkinson as its U.S. director. Atkinson once worked with the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama before moving to Germany.

"The No. 1 reason for our office here is to support Alabama industry to do business internationally and to support German industry here, particularly those with a connection to Bremen, like BLG," Atkinson said.

Steve Markham, president of BLG Logistics' U.S. operations, said the company has 50 employees supporting the Vance plant, which BLG has done since 2004. While applications for incentives say the company will add 30 jobs with the expansion, the real number could be closer to 100 if BLG's growth plans are realized.

"We see a lot more than (30) coming," he said. "The goal is to double or triple our work force locally. It doesn't have to all be automotive."

In fact, that is a big part of BLG's growth plans here.

"We absolutely have to build a local showcase that is large enough to support other operations," Markham said. "There is one logical place to do that and that's Vance, as well as Birmingham and Tuscaloosa."

He said the company is sizing up opportunities represented by the $112 million cargo terminal planned by Norfolk Southern in McCalla.

For now, the focus is on opening the facility next to the Mercedes plant by November. BLK has 60,000 square feet leased with the option on the remainder and 200,000 square feet could be added in the future.

Consolidate work The new space will allow BLG to consolidate operations it now has in other facilities around Tuscaloosa and Vance.

The Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority this month agreed to give BLG $119,000 in tax abatements over 20 years and a $32,000 site preparation grant for the $3.2 million expansion.

The company also is investing $500,000 to establish data operations in Birmingham.

Markham said BLG's familiarity with the C-Class and other Mercedes models makes it possible to add that business when the Vance plant begins producing the sports sedan by 2014.

WFB, which is setting up Bremen Invest in Birmingham, has ties to BLG, which has operated in the German city since 1877.

"We say Bremen is a Daimler city," said Andreas Gerber, director of international affairs for WFB, referring to Mercedes' parent company.
"Daimler is the biggest and most important company in Bremen with a work force of more than 13,500 people."

Bremen is home to the Mercedes plant that produces the CLK, SLK, SL and C-Class sports sedans for Europe.

"That's the link between Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and us," said Gerber, who toured Alabama last week. "You will produce the C-Class for the American market while we produce the C-Class for the European market."

WFB and Bremen Invest have ties to Airbus and parent EADS, which is competing for a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract. EADS has said it will produce the refueling tanker in Mobile, should it beat Boeing for the work.

BLG and Bremen Invest have worked together on their Alabama expansions. Atkinson, the head of Bremen Invest, handled the site selection for BLG and teamed with Michael Johnson, an attorney at Johnston Barton Proctor and Rose, to negotiate incentives.

Atkinson said visions of a future with the C-Class are part of the reason for expanding here.

"That's what we definitely want to grow," he said. "We want to make sure Bremen is in front of as many suppliers as possible when it comes to the C-Class."